1. Complete Streets Policy for Hamilton
On Wednesday June 26, the Social Planning and Research Council released its complete streets policy for public comment. A summary of the evening and links to the policy can be found in the Raise the Hammer article available here.

2. Canada Day CelebrationsCanada Day celebration on Monday, July 1, 2013 at Bayfront and Pier 4 Parks.

Just a reminder to all, who plan on heading to Canada Day Celebration at Bayfront and Pier 4 Parks, the Canadian National Railway (CN) is replacing the railway bridge on Bay Street North. To safely facilitate the work, Bay Street is closed from Strachan Street to Stuart Street(please see the attached map). The work is expected to be completed by mid-December.

The Canada Day fireworks display draws over 30,000 people to the waterfront. Residents are strongly encouraged to walk, bike or take the complimentary HSR shuttle bus to the event to minimize traffic as there is limited public parking available in the area. The shuttle bus service starts at the east side of John St. (just north of King St.) and ends in Pier 4 Park. Shuttle service begins at 6:00 p.m. Signage will be posted at both bus stop locations.

Local entertainers will perform throughout the parks starting at 6:00 p.m., including the Hamilton Aerial Group, face painters, balloonists and more!

The fireworks display will start at dusk (approximately 10:00 p.m.). Fireworks will be launched from the north-west point of Bayfront Park requiring a section of the park to be closed on Monday, July 1 starting at 8:00 a.m., reopening on Tuesday, July 2 at 12:00 p.m.

The public is asked to bring a non-perishable food item to support the Welcome Inn Community Centre’s Emergency Food Pantry, which serves over 14,000 people in Hamilton every year. Food donations can be dropped off at the Information Tents in Bayfront and Pier 4 Parks.

3. Change in Date for Cultural Forum Open House, from June 27th to July 10thThe City of Hamilton invites all citizens to a public open house and facilitated public meeting to inform and engage citizens about the Downtown Hamilton Built Heritage Inventory Study. The Open House and facilitated session will be held at LIUNA Station, 360 James St. N., Hamilton, onJuly 10 (Please note that the initial date for this meeting was June 27, but it needed to be moved due to a scheduling conflict).

A Public Open House will take place first from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. followed by a facilitated session from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The open house will provide citizens the opportunity to learn more about the Downtown Built Heritage Inventory Project, the Ontario Heritage Act and the municipal designation process. The public are encouraged to participate in the evening facilitated session that will include an opportunity to share ideas about built heritage and the value Hamiltonians place on heritage and conservation.

4. Democravise for the Community Values and Priorities Survey (Hamilton Civic League)The Hamilton Civic League (HCL) is crowdsourcing questions for our 2013 Community Values & Priorities Survey. HCL has partnered with Democravise, a Hamilton-based company with an online solution that permits users to pose new questions and to vote up questions to appear on the final survey.
The City of Hamilton attempted a similar initiative to determine spending priorities when it contracted Ottawa based, Dialogue Partners to conduct a survey at a reported cost to Hamilton taxpayers of $376K. That effort fizzled when credibility for the project was lost during the initial implementation phase. In contrast, the HCL/Democravise partnership gives ownership of the project to participating Hamiltonians and is absolutely free.

Results from the Values & Priorities Survey will be used as an accountability tool when compared to the voting records of our Council. When a similar process was followed in Guelph back in 2006, voters learned that their Council had not been voting along widely held community values and priorities and the subsequent election witnessed the majority of Councillors and the Mayor replaced.

The entire community is invited to participate at www.CivicLeague.ca. Hamiltonians without access to the internet are welcome to mail survey questions to the Hamilton Civic League, 17 Head St., Hamilton ON, L8R1P8.